The New American Dream
by llamaSUPERNOVA
Summary: 1963. When Penny learns of the miscegenation laws in her state, she and Seaweed decide to leave Baltimore for a summer of protest, love, self-discovery, and freedom.
1. May 29, 1963

The four girls waited with baited breath, their eyes never straying from the scrutiny and battle of power before them. Aunt Ruth's lemonade stood on the table completely ignored. Droplets of perspiration slid down the pitcher in hopes of enticing a drinker or two, but no one glanced in its direction. Not that any of them would have drank it anyway. Long ago it had been decided that to drink Lisa's mother's lemonade was a death wish.

The tension hung thick in the humid air.

Still, the girls waited.

Finally Susan decided, "It's beautiful," and Lisa's mouth opened in that dazzling smile of hers. Right on cue, the other four breathed a collective sigh of relief and jumped in with their own praises, now Susan had given the say-so. Their older, married cousin's word was law in the Pingleton family. It really was a fortunate thing she'd approved, because the ring was such a perfect thing and Penny would have hated to make Lisa sit through the inevitable sidelong glances and awkward comments that would have come if Susan had said, "What an adorable promise ring! You've got to let us know when Mitch saves up for something nicer, though." They'd already put Cynthia through that and that had been just enough for Penny, thanks very much.

"I _knew_ Mitch had good taste," said Angela.

"The design is really choice," said Cynthia.

"You are _so_ lucky!" said Evie.

What Penny meant to ask was, "Have you set a date yet?" What she did ask was, "Is that actual diamond or just a really good knock-off?"

Everyone stared at her with a range of skepticism to disbelief to horror and everything in between. She hadn't meant to say it – it had just slipped out. Penny figured the best way to fix this was just to pretend it hadn't been a big deal.

"What?" she asked in annoyance, as though that was what everyone ever said to their newly-engaged cousin. "It's good to know this stuff in case it ever gets stolen. Not that anyone ever steals small rings – "

Lisa silenced her with a withering glare and Penny had never been more grateful. She resisted the urge to swallow Aunt Ruth's entire pitcher of lemonade, if only to ensure she never said a word ever again. Penny settled on taking a very large gulp and choking on it.

--

"Was that really necessary?"

Penny ignored her. She knew that she was never going to hear the end of her slip-up, so she might as well get used to ignoring when it was mentioned. The other girls were still in the sitting room, fawning and exclaiming over fiancés and dates and dresses. She'd needed to get away from all that, but Penny had had no idea why Evie had offered to help her bring the glasses to the kitchen. She should have guessed.

When Evie didn't get an answer, she persisted, "I don't know what's the matter with you these days. You've been sulking ever since Susan got married."

"Bug out, Ev, I have not been _sulking_," protested Penny. Her eyebrows rose as though to say, "See? Exactly my point." Before she actually got the chance to say it, though, Penny continued, "I just think it's too early for all this. Me and Lisa and Cynthia haven't even graduated yet."

The look on her cousin's face told her she didn't believe a word of it.

"What else are you gonna do, go to Harvard?" she asked sarcastically. Penny rolled her eyes. Not that her mother ever would have sent to her to college anyway, but she already knew she wasn't exactly the quickest-witted. She didn't need her whole family always reminding her. "Really, I think you're just bitter."

Penny almost dropped the glass she'd been putting away. So this was why she'd come. She had been careful never to be alone with Evie for too long ever since that night in the diner last year. From the innocent little smile on Evie's face she knew she'd hit right where she'd wanted. Still, Penny didn't want to give her that satisfaction, so instead she turned back to the cupboard and asked, almost scornfully, "Are you crazy. Evie? What on earth do I have to be bitter about?"

"Gee, Penny," said Evie, as though playing along with some child's game, "I figured you knew what you were getting yourself into, fooling around with some Negro. I mean, if _you're_ expecting a ring or something, don't you know colored boys just don't think like that?"

Her sweet smile widened just a bit. She didn't think she'd retaliate. She thought Penny would just look around to make sure no one had heard what she'd said. As though it was something to be ashamed of, something she had to hide.

It was a rare thing for Penny to raise her voice, but even rarer for her to get to the point of anger where she felt herself unable to. She set the glass she had been washing down on the table and walked right up to Evie. It didn't matter that she was a full head shorter or that if Evie told her mother what she knew she wouldn't see the light of day for a month. In that moment, Evelyn Pingleton cowered in front of her and she said quietly, "And how would you know?"

Then she slapped her.


	2. This Sweltering Summer of Discontent

Penny lay on her back on Tracy's bed, her head hanging off the edge so that she saw her friend and the rest of the room upside-down. Although from this angle she had to wonder why things were staying so firmly attached to the floor, the shape of Tracy's hair finally looked appropriate – Penny giggled.

"So how were the cousins?" Tracy asked, plopping down on the bed next to her with a Baby Ruth.

She twisted her mouth in a wry smile. Even though the majority of them lived just across town, Tracy had only met her cousins a few times. Penny knew her best friend was a good judge of character, so it was unsurprising that from these few meetings Tracy knew exactly how Pingleton cousin dynamics worked. As the oldest, Susan lorded over the rest with her wise and worldly knowledge of married life. Cynthia and Lisa and Evie drank it all up and did everything in their power to be miniature versions of her, while Penny and Angela went along with it for the sake of keeping things uncomplicated. Evie, however, could always be counted on to cause some friction. She was more trouble than any sixteen-year-old should be.

Although they both knew the answer full well, Penny shrugged and sat up. "Like they always are," she said. "I almost died from my aunt Ruth's lemonade. Lisa's marrying a football player."

It wasn't a good idea to mention what Evie had said. As much as she loved how inspiring and helpful Tracy tried to be, it had been a long time since Penny realized that she didn't like her best friend telling her to just not listen to those crazy people because didn't she know as long as she and Seaweed loved each other that what other people thought didn't matter? She didn't want to have to ignore people's snubs. She wanted there to be no snubs in the first place.

When Evie and her little friend had seen them kissing at the diner after the Miss Hairspray Pageant the summer before, she hadn't missed the disgust and horror on her cousin's face. What she didn't get was why. Oh, Penny wasn't stupid enough that she didn't even know the preconceived notions people had about Negroes. It was why these ideas had ever started that made her blood boil. In her opinion, Seaweed was ten times smoother, sweeter, more attractive, and more caring than any white boy that Penny had ever had feelings for. She shouldn't have to defend that.

Tracy nodded absentmindedly, jiggling her foot to a tune that was no doubt blaring in her head. Girls like them didn't go to college. They finished senior year, married their high school sweetheart, and never went farther from Baltimore than the occasional visit to the capitol. She and her boyfriend were already engaged.

Of course, Tracy and Link weren't getting married any time soon. They'd already talked it over. He'd gotten an offer from a record company in New York, a contract for two years. After it was over, though, he was coming straight back to Baltimore to plan the wedding. Tracy had been more than happy with this arrangement, having landed a job on WBAL-1090 as a deejay. Neither were entirely sure what would happen after they got married, but it was nice that they were happy just to be with each other.

Penny frowned. Why did everything lead back to this nagging thought in the back of her mind?

"Hey, Trace?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think it would be strange if Seaweed and I got married?"

"Well, you love each other, right?"

"I guess so."

Tracy raised her eyebrow. Penny rolled her eyes – her friend knew her too well. She didn't guess, she knew.

"Yes," she admitted.

Satisfied, Tracy said, "Then it wouldn't be strange. It _would_ be strange if you didn't love each other, because why else would you get married?"

A little annoyed that she was playing the wide-eyed-and-innocent-and-love-conquers-all card, Penny threw a pillow at her. Tracy blocked it easily and grabbed another one, launching the two girls into a fierce battle of comforters and down pillows that went on in much the same manner until, breathless from laughter, Penny fell off the bed with a hard bump.

For the next for minutes, the two of them lay on the bed and floor respectively, giggling like little girls. Finally Penny said, "But seriously, you know what I mean. My mom doesn't even know I'm still seeing him. She'd probably never see me again. I don't think I'd ever really fit in here again. Do you have any idea how much my life would change?"

Tracy didn't say anything for a little while. For a moment Penny thought she might have gone to sleep. Then she said, "Everyone's life changes when they get married. You just need to think about whether your changes would be for the better or for worse."


End file.
